On Obstacles and Being Awesome

I'm training for my first Half Marathon, and today's run was an easy three miles. I woke up on time, but everything after that was a mess. 

* I forgot to fill my water bottle last night. No big deal, but my cousin is sleeping on the couch in my living room while visiting from Austin, so getting from my home office to the kitchen is a pain. But I did it. 

* I got back to my home office and remembered that my aunt and cousin had borrowed my Jeep yesterday, so my keys were hanging on the key rack... in the kitchen. So back I went. 

* Once again, back in my home office, I headed out the door.... only to see my husband's Jeep still parked behind me in the driveway from last night. I could move his car, but the extra set of keys are on the key rack... in the kitchen. 

No problem. I was a bit annoyed but knew I had a solution. I was only running three miles, and I know a course from my front door out to Park Blvd and back. Plus I have my iPhone which tracks time and distance, so I was good to go. 

* Except I loaned my second charger to my cousin yesterday. My only charger was on the iPad... which meant my iPhone's battery was nearly dead.

I had already updated my status here and on Facebook to say I was doing a three mile run. My friend posted back that I was insane for being up so early. I typed this back: 

"Apparently, you and the powers that be agree. Ric's jeep is parked behind my car in the driveway AND my iPhone isn't charged. I can't drive to the gym and I can't listen to music and track my time/distance running on the street. Looks like this morning's workout is pushed back to this afternoon. *sigh*" 

Immediately after which, I typed this: 

"As soon as I typed that, I realized it sounds like an excuse. Screw it. I know a 3 mile course and I can run one day without music. I'm outta here, be back in 30 minutes." 

And off I went. I ran 3.38 miles in 33 minutes, and the whole time I ran, I kept telling myself, "this is why you're awesome." 

There will always be obstacles. There will always be complications and interruptions and reasons to not do what we plan. Ultimately, though, we have to make a way. We have to commit to ourselves, to our physical health and emotional wellbeing. We have to decide what we want and not let anything or anyone hold us back. 

That is what makes the difference between reaching our goals and falling short. And that is what makes us awesome. 

SDJ 

Who's awesome? This guy!